By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Chief Medical Writer
The first soldier to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore.

His father says Brendan Marrocco (muh-ROCK-oh) had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Marrocco is 26 and lives in New York City. He was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009.

He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel approach is aimed at helping his body accept the new limbs with minimal medication to prevent rejection.

It is the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant done in the United States. The military is sponsoring operations like these to help wounded troops. About 300 have lost arms or hands in the wars.

The medical developments we are seeing nowadays are just awesome. Just the thought of reattaching or replacing a limb that was cut of is amazing. Athroscopic surgery is changing how knees and other joints are repaired greatly reducing the risks of infection. Heart surgery through tubes inserted in the groin area instead of sawing the ribcage open.
Truly amazing.

SloMotion

01-29-2013 05:50 AM

Re: Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

What a trooper. <salute>

With all the medical advances/technology, I wonder if the plan is to attempt leg transplants at a later date as well. It would be a historic breakthrough for medicine, I think.

Crusader

01-29-2013 07:02 AM

Re: Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

Quote:

Originally Posted by SloMotion
(Post 476146)

What a trooper. <salute>

With all the medical advances/technology, I wonder if the plan is to attempt leg transplants at a later date as well. It would be a historic breakthrough for medicine, I think.

Sure would be. And with stem cell rsearch about to take off I believe spinal cord injuries and paralyzis will be curable in the next 20 years.